Romain Ntamack is still number 1 in the position. Over the past year, the lackluster performances of Matthieu Jalibert and the preference of Thomas Ramos for the 15th have confirmed this hypothesis. Absent from the XV of France for almost 500 days, the Stade Toulousain opener spoke about the fate of the flocked jersey of the 10 in Blue.
Via an interview conducted with L’Équipe, Romain Ntamack did not brush aside this topic of discussionas he was able to do at the microphone of Canal+ two months ago. Regarding the appointment of Matthieu Jalibert as starting opener in his absence, he confides this:
I haven't been there for a year and a half and logic would have dictated that (Matthieu Jalibert) take over. He had the opportunity to do it. It's not up to me to judge his performances. If the staff preferred Thomas (Ramos) in the last matches, I have nothing to do with it.”
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In the spirit of Toulouse, Matthieu Jalibert therefore had primacy over 10but water has passed under the bridge. Disappointing during the last VI Nations Tournament, the UBB player was not returned to the opening during the fall. Furthermore, Romain Ntamack affirms that this duality between him and his counterpart was made “despite” he and he has “the feeling that it will be endless“.
“I never claimed anything. I never went to see the staff to say that I was number 10 for the Blues and that I had to play! I haven't worn the France team jersey for a year and a half. There was a place to take”, retorts the one who should find a starting place in Blue this winter.
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At the same time, Romain Ntamack relaunches the debate by indicating that from now on, the question of openness is no longer solely driven by an eternal duel between him and the Bordelo-Béglais. “It's a shame that the debate is still centered on Ntamack-Jalibert when, during the November Tour, Thomas was very good and became number 1 in the position”, confides the opener of Stade Toulousain.
However, the man with 38 caps with the French XV does not see his Stade Toulousain teammate as a competitor for the selection. For him, Thomas Ramos’ place is elsewhere: “What is paradoxical is that Thomas, who claims his preference for the full-back position, plays at the opening. Whether with France or Stade Toulousain, there is above all a lot of emulation, which generates motivation.”
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A few weeks before the next list of Fabien Galthié, Romain Ntamack “it is (with) not considered the number 1 opener for the Blues”. However, the latest international meetings of the French XV have confirmed one thing: the 25-year-old opener asserts himself as the only one to simultaneously hold the trust of Fabien Galthié and a specialist status in the role of number 10.
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